This invention is directed to an improvement in a surface sweeping machine equipped with a gutter broom, and particularly an improvement in a gutter broom mechanism of the type disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,981 in the name of Bernard W. Young issued on Feb. 12, 1974, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated herein to by reference and is made a part hereof, particularly in regard to the specifics of the hydraulic system for rotating the gutter broom and moving the same between its elevated inboard inoperative position and its lower outboard ground engaging/brushing position.
It is conventional for sweeping machines to include one or more gutter brooms or gutter brushes which are designed to be moved from an elevated inoperative position adjacent the associated vehicle frame to a lower operative position at which time an associated gutter broom motor which is normally hydraulically rotated is actuated to rotate the gutter broom. While the gutter broom includes a plurality of bristles whose ends occupy a common plane, the gutter broom is rarely operated with all of the bristles lying simultaneously against the surface which is to be swept. Instead the gutter broom is adjusted so that the forward facing bristles relative to the direction of vehicle travel engage the surface which is to be swept, whereas the rearward bristles are elevated. The gutter broom is rotated clockwise, as viewed from above on the driver's side of the vehicle or counterclockwise as viewed from above at the passenger's side of the vehicle to brush debris from the gutter forwardly and inwardly after which it can be picked-up by a conventional vacuum pick-up head. The gutter brooms are not only inclined forwardly, but also laterally outwardly, so that the forward and outwardmost bristles of the gutter broom "bite" or forcefully engage the gutter at the gutter line (most immediate the "curb") where, due to the inclination of most gutters, most of the debris, silt, paper, etc. tends to accumulate.
It is, of course desirable for each gutter broom to complement as optimumly as possible each particular gutter which is being swept thereby, but for practical purposes this is virtually impossible. One cannot continually manually adjust and re-adjust gutter brooms as gutter styles/configurations/structures alter or vary. Instead, a gutter broom is normally adjusted for an "average" or "standard" gutter profile, and during a brushing operation satisfactory results can be expected. However, if a gutter broom is initially adjusted for a relatively shallow gutter and a very angulated or abrupt gutter is encountered, much of the debris in the more inclined gutter can be missed because the "bite" of the less angulated or tilted gutter broom will not effectively match the more abrupt angle of the gutter, particularly at the gutter line. Therefore, while effective brushing might take place away from the gutter line, the gutter line area with the predominant debris will not be effectively cleaned. Hence, it has been and remains desirable to adjust the angulation of the gutter broom to at least accommodate relatively drastic or abrupt changes in gutter configurations, angles, structures and the like.
Heretofore it has, of course, been recognized that rapid, accurate and reliable adjustment of a gutter broom relative to the gutter or similar surface which was to be swept was highly desirable. However, most efforts directed thereto have been rather cumbersome mechanical connections involving a plurality of bolts, nuts, holes, arcuate slots, pins, grooves, etc., typical of which are fairly represented in the patents to Gregory, J. Larsen (U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,968) issued July 30, 1974, Roland P. Gehman et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,016) issued June 1, 1965, Hedley B. Keogh et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,293) issued Sept. 3, 1963 and Robert F. Schmidt et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,192) issued Dec. 5, 1961. Essentially all past effort toward achieving the objects of this invention lack any one or all of speed, simplicity and reliability. As might be expected, in those cases where a gutter broom could be adjusted and fixed in a position of adjustment, it took inordinate time involving the loosening and/removal of a plurality of bolts and nuts and subsequent relative adjustment between supporting plates to achieve eventual realignment, retightening and admitted reliability. However, the factors of speed of adjustment and simplicity thereof were lacking. Accordingly, the primary object of this invention is to provide a novel gutter broom mechanism in which the gutter broom can be rapidly, simply and reliably adjusted relative to its support arm thereby readily adapting the gutter brush mechanism for economically optimum and efficient gutter sweeping operations under most any type of gutter structures, profiles and/or inclinations.